The Hijacked Heart: The Soul's yearning for genuine love and connection

By Linda Hicks

The Hijacked Heart has been a lifetime in coming. It contains the stories of clients as well as the author. All do not come into this world with equal opportunity. Many suffer abuse at the hands of those who should have been protecting them. Those who were hurt by others and so hurt someone. Children are victims because of their nature of vulnerability and susceptibility. Early conditioning to accept abuse as normal continues until a person decides it is no longer acceptable. Unfortunately in many cases these conditions opinions go well in to adulthood and possible for the entire life of a person. Just as dysfunction is taught by unspoken messages so does the individual need positive reinforcement and encouragement. People hurt us and it takes people to lead us to genuine love and connection. The twelve step programs offer such "connection" with great success. The stories in "Hijacked Heart" offer real life experiences of real people who have been through the process of change which is required to have a new life. AA states "nothing changes if nothing changes, and the only person you can change it you!" The process in "Hijacked Heart" is creative, unique to the person and offers the reader some strategies to help. There is truly a way to have the life you were created to have, the person you were supposed to be. There is a saying in Buddhism ( I am not a Buddhist but like this saying), "when the student is ready the teacher appears". I hope that this is your season to find Genuine Love and Connection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098337438

Book preview

The Hijacked Heart

©2020, Linda Hicks

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN: 978-1-09833-742-1

ISBN eBook: 978-1-09833-743-8

This book is dedicated To the God who sees who pursued me

with relentless Love and rescued my hijacked heart.

It is to the countless people who have nurtured my heart and soul along the way and to my clients who have given me the privilege of listening to their amazing stories which inspired not only their peers but me with courage and hope to continue the journey to wholeness.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: The Journey Begins ~ Origins of Despair

Chapter Two: The Victim Restored

Chapter Three: The Problem of Stolen Identity

Chapter Four: The Ravages of Sexual Abuse

Chapter Five: The Kaleidoscope of Recovery

Chapter Six: Living with a Foundation of Brokenness

Chapter Seven: Hijacking by Abandonment and Betrayal

Chapter Eight: It is never too late for genuine love and connection.

Chapter Nine: Silencing the Lamb

Chapter Ten: The Heart Released in Genuine Love and Connection

Chapter Eleven: The Path to Genuine Love and Connection

Chapter Twelve: From Disqualified to More than Enough

Chapter Thirteen: Messages from the Throne Room

Chapter Fourteen: The Promise

Epilogue

Introduction

Long before I knew anything about addiction, I carried its roots. Raised in a climate of anger, criticism, alcoholism, and poverty; a perfect storm was brewing. Originally, I thought to write only about my experience in helping people during my twenty-five years as an addiction counselor. Stories of those I helped on their personal journey to freedom from drugs, alcohol and unhealthy relationships. That would certainly have been the safe approach. But as things often happen, I realized I couldn’t tell their story without weaving parts of my own experience into the project. It is a story that transcends generations. Generations of pain, misunderstanding, hurt and damage caused by unhealed hijacked hearts.

My own lack of connection to either parent fostered secrecy and lack of trust which lent itself to a sense of isolation. Trauma became internalized as sexual abuse at fifteen set my course for nearly a lifetime of shame. This scenario of dysfunction led to decades of searching for wholeness, significance and peace. During this search, I recognized my heart had been hijacked which enabled me to see it in the lives of others. My healing journey led the way for me to help others.

This book will chronical my personal journey and the success stories of countless courageous people who have found their way out of the darkness into marvelous light. There is hope. You have the ability to change and live a healthy life with positive fulfilling relationships, work and recreation. Your identity can be restored.

As a result of listening, coaching and speaking to the strengths of my clients I have concluded that universally all humans are wired for two essentials: Love and Connection. Even babies not held and nurtured will fail to thrive and even die. We long to have connection with others. We have a need to share all of ourselves with someone else. Our need for genuine love and connection is so essential that without it we will settle for the counterfeit.

As we understand the difference between genuine and counterfeit, we are able to make choices that will protect the things we value in life. Our dysfunctional culture has problems with patience, self-examination, and intimate communication. We often bypass the development of skills necessary for a life of fulfillment and destiny and settle for and accept counterfeit forms of intimate communication. Cyber addiction, electronics and social media have replaced human connection with an impersonal substitute. The art of communicating, listening and responding with honest intentional answers to another human being is lost in cyber space, where no social skills are necessary.

Join me in this great adventure as we explore this age old mystery of love and connection and restore our hijacked hearts.

Chapter One

The Journey Begins ~ Origins of Despair

As in any journey the beginning sets the stage. A child raised in a dysfunctional home does not start out with equal opportunity. When a home is fractured by alcoholism and addictions, divorce or violence, there is never a sense of security or safety. From the beginning self-doubt, fear and insecurity, root themselves in the members of that system.

The journey has been launched with a false identity. That person is ill-equipped to thrive and manage a genuine lifestyle. No one ever wants to miss out on Love and Connection. Love makes us to want to be all that we can be, to excel,